


I'm Batman

by Codexfawkes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Firefly References, M/M, Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, batman onsie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2016-01-08
Packaged: 2018-05-12 12:41:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5666446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Codexfawkes/pseuds/Codexfawkes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taking in the baffled looks on their faces she smirked at them before speaking. “I’m Batman,” she growled comically.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Batman

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing. Any characters used from the Marvel universe and any quotes from anywhere are not mine. Joss is Boss.  
> The first appearance of Batman was in Detective Comics issue#27 1939. So Steve and Bucky could have read them.  
> As always, feel free to check me out on tumblr: http://codex-fawkes.tumblr.com/ Reviews and kudos feed my muse.

Steve had been born with the words “You tryin’ ta get yourself killed kid?” trailing down his entire left arm.

Bucky had been born with the words “I had ‘em on the ropes,” trailing down his right arm.

When those words were exchanged in a back alley in Brooklyn in 1924 they were both pretty surprised. The boys formed a deep bond of friendship, a brotherhood really, and soon Sarah and Steve Rogers were welcomed into the Barnes family with open arms. The Rogers’ claimed the Barnes clan as family with equal joy and Sarah breathed a bit easier knowing that if something ever happened to her, Bucky would be there to take care of Steve.

For years that’s how things went. Steve, when asked about his soul bond would proudly stand and recite the words “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”

That their bond was a platonic one was easily accepted. Happily accepted. Same sex romantic soulmates were becoming more and more common, but people still had an uncomfortableness with it. Same sex bond mates had harder times getting jobs, places to live, and couldn’t get married. Sarah didn’t want her boy to have to deal with that sort of prejudice.

 So things went. Bucky became the neighborhood playboy and Steve was his little brother. Girls knew to get in good with Bucky they had to be friendly with Steve, but both boys disdained the girls who proved to only be nice to Steve to impress Bucky far more than the ones who were openly rude.

Then everything changed. Pearl Harbor, America entering the war, Bucky getting drafted, Steve signing on for Project Rebirth. It wasn’t until he was holding a sobbing Bucky that had just woken from a nightmare in a tent in France, that things shifted again. One second Steve was clinging to his friend, and the next they were kissing. That night everything changed, and their bond became a romantic one. Steve adored Peggy, she was his best girl. He could feel something happening there. But nothing compared to the way Bucky kissed him. Nothing.

When Steve woke up alone in the future, he was shocked and horrified to find another set of words on his skin. This time, on his right hip were two baffling words “I’m Batman.”

Steve knew who Batman was, he’d read those comics. He and Bucky both liked them, but how could his new soulmate be Batman? It didn’t make any sense. It also didn’t make sense that no matter how much time passed Bucky’s mark didn’t fade from black to grey as was supposed to happen when a soulmate dies. The doctors at SHIELD told him that the odd occurrence could be due to the serum and without a better explanation Steve accepted this. He really shouldn’t have.  Seeing Bucky in D.C., well nothing, not even aliens streaming from the sky over mid-town could have prepared him for that.

Aliens, Avengers, Tony Stark, Hydra being inside SHIELD and finally, Bucky. Bucky had survived the fall, been captured, and forced to become a weapon. The gunshot wounds were nothing compared to how epically he’d failed his soulmate. Steve chased leads all around the world for over a year before he found Bucky in his own living room in Brooklyn. Steve had known the moment he walked in the door someone was there and was poised to throw his shield when he realized who he was looking at.

“You tryin ta get yourself killed kid?” Steve asked slowly lowering the weapon to the floor.

“I had ‘em on the ropes.” Bucky replied with a wistful smirk. Steve slowly walked toward him, not wanting to spook him into running again. Once he was within arm’s length, Bucky tugged him into a hug.

“Damn I missed you Stevie.” Bucky murmured. And if Steve burst into tears, well Bucky wasn’t going to tell on him.

“Steve, I gotta tell you something.” Bucky said after a long while.

“Buck, I know everything, I’ve seen the Winter Soldier’s file. You don’t have anything to confess, you didn’t make those decisions.” Steve told him earnestly.

“That ain’t what I meant punk, I meant this.” Bucky said, rolling his eyes and tugging down his pants enough to reveal  two words on his left hip. Steve froze, looking down at the very same words and hand writing he’d spent years feeling guilty over.

Bucky watched anxiously as Steve abruptly stood up. Insecurity flashed through Bucky as he internally panicked that he would be sent away for having a second soulmate. However, instead of stalking out or asking Bucky to leave, Steve turned and tugged his own pants down to reveal the same mark that was on Bucky’s own body.

“Looks like the universe finally got somethin’ right.” Bucky murmured trailing his flesh fingers over the new mark on Steve’s body.

“You, me, and Batman. Gotta say, I’ve had worse offers.” Steve told him with a shaky chuckle. Bucky stood, stepping slowly into Steve’s personal space.

“But have you had better?” Bucky asked, more uncertainty in his voice than he’d of liked.

“Not even from Peggy.” Steve told him firmly. Bucky sagged against him in relief, he’d been so terrified Steve would send him away. He could handle anything, doctors, needles, a second soulmate, but not Steve sending him away.

Steve knew he had to let the team know that Bucky had come to him, but if he took a few days to spend some much needed alone time figuring things out between them, that was  their business. After taking the weekend Steve called Natasha. She told him to pack a bag and come to the tower so they could debrief Bucky and evaluate his mental and physical status. Nat assured him Sam and Bruce would do the evaluating, and that it could happen in Steve’s apartment in the tower. An hour later he was leading Bucky into his tower apartment where Nat was waiting for them.

Natasha stood up from the couch as they walked in and closed the door behind them, Bucky shifting uncomfortably as he saw her.

“Sorry I tried to kill you.,” he said after a long silence.

“It wasn’t you. Glad to see you doing better, though a shower and a change of clothes wouldn’t hurt. I’m told you’re pretty good looking under all that scruff.” Natasha answered, her mouth tilting up in a teasing smirk.

“Sorry doll, I’ve already got two soulmates. Any more people in my bed and even the serum’s going to have a hard time keeping up.” Bucky shot back with a similar tilt to his own mouth.

“Two?” Nat asked looking at Steve.

“Batman’s on his left hip, mirror image to mine. Same words, same hand writing. Guess we’re meeting him together.” Steve explained, for the first time since he woke up feeling nothing but anticipation at the idea of his second.

“Can I?” Nat asked stepping closer to Steve, gesturing toward his hip. Steve nodded and tugged his jeans down enough to show the mark. Nat stared at it a long moment with a carefully blank expression on her face before stepping back with dancing eyes.

“Thank you, Bruce is outside and ready to come in. I’ll leave you three to it.” Nat said moving to the door.

“Tasha, you know who he is, don’t you.” Steve stated despite it being phrased as a question.

“I know the Bat’s secret identity, yes. I don’t think you boys are going to have to wait long for your third.,” she confirmed just before slipping out the door and letting Bruce in.

“Damn spies,” Steve muttered before greeting Bruce and thanking him for coming.

By the time Bruce had run all his scans, took several vials of blood, and assured himself that Bucky was healthy and unlikely to murder them all, both Steve and Bucky were exhausted. Sleep that night was deeper and easier than either man had experienced since Bucky was unmasked in D.C..

The next few days were spent in sessions with Sam and the rest of the team, dealing with the reality of Bucky coming in. Pepper began working with lawyers to protect him, to get his status changed from killed in action to prisoner of war. She was adamant that not only could SI’s lawyers protect him, but that it was vital that they work with the state, federal, and military authorities so they didn’t come after the team for harboring an assassin.

Just over a week after Steve had found Bucky in his apartment, Tony approved full security access to the Avengers floors for Bucky. They had decided that living full time at the tower, at least until the legal crap had been dealt with, was better for everyone, especially Bucky. They’d been taking advantage of the massive gym Tony had built for the team, and decided to head to the communal floor to see what the staff had left for breakfast. As they walked into the kitchen both men froze in shock.

Standing by the island was a young woman with curves for days, placing a plate of syrup covered waffles on the counter in front of one of the bar stools. It wasn’t just that it was someone they hadn’t met, no it was how she was dressed. She wore a full body, grey and black Batman onesie complete with hood and attached cape. The yellow Batman symbol stretched over her chest gave evidence to the stress her ample curves were putting on the garment that was at once ridiculous and adorable. On her feet were black socks with little yellow bats, and dark brown hair spilled from under the hood of her outfit. Thick framed glasses were perched on her nose, and as she turned to look at them, they could see blue eyes behind the lenses. Taking in the baffled looks on their faces she smirked at them before speaking.

“I’m Batman,” she growled comically.

Both men burst out laughing at the absurdity of the moment. No matter what scenario either of them had dreamed up, this wasn’t one of them. The woman looked ridiculously pleased with herself for having made them laugh.

“Gotta tell ya doll, you’re the best surprise I’ve had since 1942.” Steve told her with a grin.

“Bruce Wayne never looked so good.” Bucky agreed smiling at her. The woman stilled in shock, her eyes wide behind her glasses.

“Talk about surprises, I was sure Mr. 1942 was going to be a platonic grandpa to tell me stories of the good ole days. I thought you were going to be a comic book geek. Super soldiers is definitely a surprise,” she said nodding at each of them in turn.

“You have us at a disadvantage, you know who we are, but we don’t know who you are.” Steve said moving further into the room, Bucky following his lead.

“Oh! Right, sorry, I’m Darcy, Darcy Lewis.,” she introduced herself.

“Thor’s friend Darcy?” Steve asked surprised.

“Yup! Jane and I are moving in. I came ahead a few days to help Tony get Jane’s lab ready for her equipment.” Darcy explained.

“Lab?” Bucky asked tensing at the word.

“Yeah, my boss lady/bestie is an theoretical astrophysicist. Her work on portals and wormholes has shifted our entire understanding of space-time.” Darcy told him enthusiastically. Bucky relaxed with the information that their soulmate studied the stars. He was sure it was actually more complicated than that, but space was better than any other type of science she could be involved with.

“So, not to be rude but my breakfast is getting cold. Feel free to grab something and join me.” Darcy said before sliding onto the stool by her plate.

“We did come up here for breakfast.” Steve replied as he headed for the fridge. Soon they were seated around the island together.

“I have to ask, why Batman?” Steve wanted to know. Darcy laughed, pushing the hood off her head with a grin.

“Well, my affection for the Dark Knight started because of the soul mark calling me Bruce Wayne.,” she told Steve.

“I bought the outfit because it’s funny, and I wore it out of the apartment Tony set me up in because of you actually.” Darcy continued looking over at Bucky.

“Not your words though, you yourself. Clint told me about the stuff you’ve been through and I figured if we ran into each other you could use the laugh. People can’t help laughing and grinning when they see me in this. I thought laughter and happiness was a pretty good first impression.” Darcy explained with a smile.

The two men stared at her in amazement. She’d gone out of her way to give happiness to a complete stranger for no other reason than it seemed like the right thing to do.

“I’m starting to understand why you’re our third.” Bucky told her with a smile.

“Though we’d of been happy to meet you no matter what you were or weren’t wearing.” Steve added.

“Trust me Solider, when you see me _not wearing_ I’m hoping for a hell of a lot better reaction than happy.” Darcy teased with a wink. Bucky let out a rusty bark of laughter, surprise and delight on his face. Darcy would have expected the Steve Tony talked about to blush at her bold comment, but he didn’t. Instead Steve slowly raked his eyes over her every curve before meeting her eyes again with a heated smirk.

“Trust **_me_** doll, you won’t be disappointed.” Steve guaranteed.

He was gratified to see her eyes darken and her breathing pick up slightly at his declaration.

“Cap, why are you staring at Lewis like you want to devour her instead of your breakfast? I didn’t know you were capable of making the expression. Did we know he could do that?” Tony’s voice rang out breaking the moment.

“Leave me out of it,” Bruce said heading for the stove to put on water for tea.

“Nice jammies Darce,” Tony teased tugging on the hood.

“Thanks Tinman, now go away and take Bruce with you.” Darcy said sweetly.

“Rude,” Tony complained as he opened the fridge and started to rummage.

“What’s going on?” Bruce asked with a confused frown. It wasn’t like Darcy to try and send him away.

“She’s Batman,” Steve answered him. Bruce’s eyes widened in shock, his gaze moving back and forth between the three of them.

“What’s that look? Why do you look like they broke your brain? What don’t I know?” Tony demanded insistently. Darcy, Bucky, and Steve exchanged a series of looks, which only frustrated Tony further, before Darcy nodded at Bruce.

“She’s their soulmate.” Bruce informed him, his mind having found it’s figurative footing again. Tony stared at them all in shock before bursting out into disbelieving laughter.

“Oh God, you almost got me. Soulmates. Right, nice try guys but it’s not gonna work. Genius.” Tony said pointing at himself on the last word.

Steve and Bucky exchanged a look before standing up and silently tugging down their sweat pants enough to reveal the matching marks. Tony stepped forward and read them.

“Doesn’t prove anything, that could be anyone’s handwriting.” Tony denied stubbornly.

“There’s one way to settle this. Jarvis, please play back the security footage of the common kitchen starting from when Bucky and Steve entered the room until we sat down together.” Darcy said looking up at the ceiling.

“I’d be happy to Miss Lewis.” Jarvis agreed. A transparent screen appeared in mid-air and displayed the footage. Tony going still as he watched them exchange words and confirm that they had each other’s. As the video ended Darcy turned to Tony with a smirk.

“Genius,” she said pointing at herself. “Idiot child,” she said pointing at Tony.

“Simon? Really I’m Simon in this situation?” Tony scoffed.

“If the pompous, belief that you’re always right fits.” Darcy teased with a grin.

“Come on, I’m clearly Mal.” Tony complained moving back to the fridge.

“Clint and Natasha are Wash and Zoe. Tony you’re Simon. I’m Book, and these three are Mal,” Bruce declared pointing at Steve, “Kaylee,” he continued pointing at Darcy, “and River.,” he finished.

Tony and Darcy looked at each other for a long moment before nodding.

“That is eerily accurate,” Darcy conceded.

“Better Reaver proof the quinjet.” Tony commented as he dug into a container of strawberry yogurt.

“Do you have any idea what they’re talking about?” Bucky asked completely confused.

“No, I’m pretty used to that though.” Steve replied with a rueful shake of his head.

“Don’t worry, you’ve got me now, I’ll fill in the blanks.” Darcy assured them with a smile.

“You already are.” Bucky told her.

 The three soulmates left the common floor to talk and get to know each other better somewhere without Tony, leaving him and Bruce planning a Firefly marathon.

“Guess we’re gonna have to see that Firefly thing to understand all that.” Steve said as they rode to Steve and Bucky’s apartment.

“Yes, but first, Batman.” Darcy declared hooking an arm through each of theirs. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, Natasha knew what Steve’s mark said and where it was because it was in his SHIELD file, but she’s never seen it. Darcy’s file had several letters written to Coulson and Fury “Agent IPod Thief,” & “To Director Asshole” respectively so she knew her hand writing. She and Clint both think it’s hilarious that she wrote complaint letters and didn’t even try to be respectful to the authority figures she sent them to. 
> 
> My reasoning on the characterizations for our trio via Firefly. 
> 
> Mal is a leader of a rag tag group of people who always has a plan, but it never works out quite like he wanted it to. He has a strong moral compass and would rather be free than rich. He also loves deeply and will do anything to protect his crew. Steve in a nutshell. He also has PTSD and a deep well of guilt over all the people he didn’t save. Also Steve.
> 
> Darcy as Kaylee is really a no brainer. She’s a happy person who throws herself in with this crazy group of people (Mal, Wash, and Zoe) because she proves her talent when underestimated, only to prove that she’s a great asset. 
> 
> Bucky as River, well…I think we all get that one.
> 
> Tony as Simon also makes sense when you think about it. A rich, entitled genius, the best in his field, who is willing to do anything to save his sister and keep her safe. He’s reluctant to get close to the crew, but under Kaylee’s good influence and River bonding with the others, he lets them in and takes them as his own people. Plus Bruce knew it would annoy him. ;)


End file.
